When it comes to Manufacturing or Industrial companies, there is a movement that digital marketing is dead and doesn’t work. That content marketing and audience cultivation are a waste of time for those industries.

Content Marketing and Audience Cultivation

I’m going to show you in less than 540 words why content marketing and audience cultivation are critical to manufacturing and industrial companies. And I’m going to use zombies to prove my point.

The Walking Dead started as a graphic comic book series. Now it’s one of the most popular TV shows. How did they progress from a comic book to a show that 17.3 million people watched last Sunday?

The answer is that they cultivated an audience by consistently producing valuable content that their audience craved. They produced mini-episodes to supplement the main TV show. Then posted interesting content on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Plus, they engage viewers by asking questions, creating contests and giving behind-the-scenes stories. They even ask viewers what they wanted to see.

You’re going to see how “boring” industries like manufacturing and industrial companies can emulate a similar strategy and get results.

What the heck does a TV show about zombies have to do with a manufacturing company?

You might be thinking that the two are completely unrelated. And that you’re just going to keep on doing what you’ve been doing. Well, if your business continues to ignore content marketing … you might end up like this (I was going to put an image of a zombie, but you might be eating right now, so I decided not to. You’re welcome):

As my friends at Cerasis (a freight management company) say, it’s all about VALUE creation. Take a manufacturing company as an example. Their content needs to create something of value that their customer can use. Content that creates value as it TEACHES them and empowers them. Educate your customer, build trust with them, and when a prospective customer needs your services, you’re top-of-mind. They think of the friendly manufacturing company above all competitors because they gave you something valuable first before trying to sell you something.

For example, take an industrial boiler manufacturer. What type of valuable content could they provide for their prospects and customers? Perhaps a free training on how to maximize boiler efficiency. Or a free 10-point checklist to ensure EPA compliance.

The Walking Dead also has a contest for tickets to attend the season premier. An industrial boiler manufacturer could use that style to cultivate their audience by giving a behind-the-scenes video on boiler maintenance (that doesn’t sound as exciting to me, but it probably would to an engineer that has that problem).

What next?

Does the benefit of content marketing even for “boring” industries make a little more sense now? If so, email us with your website or click on the link if you’d like a free Website Analysis. It’s a 10-point audit of your digital assets (website, social media) with 3 suggestions on how you can quickly improve.